Re: Another Duke chap

In response to Prof. Childress, maybe it's those "communitarian values" that explain why lots of students who graduate from college these days wind up serving Starbucks coffee or delivering for Pizza Hut.

The better argument for the defenders of the status quo is that, at least in many disciplines, it would be extremely hard to find anyone to hire who wasn't a leftist. Tenured radicals in charge of Ph.D. programs in disciplines such as history, sociology, English and other fields have made it very difficult and unpleasant for anyone who doesn't agree with them to get a degree. They don't want students who disagree with their views of the world, so you find few non-leftists even choosing to try for a doctorate in those fields, much less completing the program.

In short, they only want fawning students who will become ideological clones. One might even criticize that as being "individualistic."

More on Beavers in Sampson County

Say what you will, I still think this is a bizarre way to spend tax money. Sampson County has raised the bar for beavers. They now pay $10 per dead beaver with a maximum of 800 per season. If you need to pay off those student loans, you might consider be able to moonlight and get some extra cash.

The only question (beyond some obvious ones) is, "How do you make sure that it's a Sampson county beaver when you bring it in?"

Another Duke chap responds

Herb Childress of the University Writing Program postulates that the reason Duke has hired so many leftist professors is because of self-selection owing to the fact that university teaching requires someone with "communitarian rather than individualistic concerns."

Conservatives, you know, are selfish.

I foresee a debate forthcoming among Duke faculty: "Conservatives: Selfish, Stupid, or Both?"

Students protest tuition cut

quote
-----------------------
The government said on Thursday that annual tuition and living costs at the six Indian Institutes of Management were "exorbitant," and it ordered the annual fees to be reduced to $660, from $3,320.

But administrators, students, and alumni have widely condemned the cuts, saying the loss of that revenue will hurt the quality of instruction and facilities at the institutes. ...

The institutes are consistently ranked as the country's top M.B.A. programs because they are partially self-sufficient in their finances and, more important, independent of the government. In part because they charge tuition, they can afford to hire top professors and offer their students first-class facilities -- features that few of India's inexpensive but cash-starved government universities can claim.

... The institutes are technically public institutions, but over the years they have developed into semiautonomous bodies that are administered by a board of governors. Tuition generates roughly half of their income. The rest of their revenue comes from business-consulting fees and the proceeds of their endowments. They take grants from the government when and if it suits them.

Critics of the cuts worry that the institutes will be forced to dilute their high standards. Students have told reporters and have commented on institute-related Web sites that they do not believe $3,320 for tuition and housing is an onerous burden. All students in the elite M.B.A. programs qualify for educational loans. And compared with private colleges, such as the Indian School of Business, which charges nearly $20,000, the institutes remain a bargain. ...
-----------------------

The Kerry-Edwards Veepstakes

I still think the best bet for [Edwards] is to be picked for the veep slot on someone else's ticket, but the situation is obviously in flux. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry should probably be the frontrunner at this point. He's got presence, experience, his Vietnam narrative. He's got his wife's money. He's from next door to New Hampshire.

Just forget whatever else I've written about the race since then — I sure have — and marvel at my sooth-saying abilities.